Wampum Is Here, Board Heavy

Lennon Ficalora, photographed at the Montauk skate park, is set to open a new board store in Bridgehampton.
Janis Hewitt

Helen Ficalora, the jewelry designer, is all about pink. Her shop on Main Street in Bridgehampton is pink, the interior displays are pink, and the elaborate wrapping on her jewelry pieces is pink. Once purchased, the jewelry is nestled in a pink box before being placed in a tiny pink shopping bag. But you can be sure that when her sons, Marley and Lennon, open their new shop, Wampum, in the space behind hers, there will be few if any signs of pink.
Wampum is a skateboarding and life­style shop that will have its grand opening with food, drinks, and music on Tuesday from 4 to 8 p.m. The brothers, who have skated almost their whole lives, will be selling and repairing skateboards and men’s skater-style clothing from brands such as HUFSA, RVCA, Vestal, Brixton Supply Company, and others.
Lennon, Marley bragged, is one of the best skateboarders on the South Fork and was the first local kid to be invited to compete in the Vans Warp Tour, a national skateboarding competition. He was also featured on the cover of Thrasher, a skateboarding magazine. For four years he was an attendant at the Montauk skate park.
The shop is something the boys have wanted to do for a long time, and when they realized that the space behind their mother’s shop was available they jumped on it. “It all came together this winter,” said Lennon, standing at the skate park with boards in hand, itching to ride the bowl.
Both have other jobs and run Fresh Productions, a video production firm that works mainly with kids. Lennon was off this week to film a pilot for a children’s show. They also plan to have events at the Montauk skate park, which is said in skater speak to be one of the most challenging around. They are hoping they can entice professional skaters to the hamlet to put on demonstrations.
They chose the name Wampum for the shop because of its cultural significance on eastern Long Island. “It was an essential element of the local community, used for trading, storytelling, and peace treaties,” Lennon said, referring to Native Americans. “Wampum’s use was an integral part of local life [and is] related to our mission to support the local skateboard and artistic community by providing premier skateboards and clothes.”
The shop will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. “The lifestyle is for everybody from kids to grandfathers,” Lennon said.